


The Sun Rises

by SephtisThan



Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Eating Disorders, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, POV Second Person, Retribution Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:36:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SephtisThan/pseuds/SephtisThan
Summary: A collection of short ficlets featuring Keiron Basri, a man withsomany issues.





	1. Keep It Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keiron POV  
Welcome to Keiron's morning routine.
> 
> TW:  
\- Eating Disorders  
\- Extreme Violence

Eating breakfast is always difficult. Perhaps it’d be easier if it wasn’t just last night's leftovers reheated. Perhaps. You know the problem runs deeper than that.

You push another spoonful into your mouth despite yourself, sitting cross-legged on the worn couch. Chewing slowly, you glance down at the frankly unappealing meal in front of you. You weren't even hungry. Are you ever? You push that thought down, keep it down. You need to eat to live. You know that.

_But do you deserve to?_

You close your eyes, swallowing with a grimace and letting out a heavy sigh. Eating shouldn't be this difficult for you. It shouldn't give you such a violent internal conflict. Just think about something else. Anything else. Keep eating.

_The sickening crunch of Herald's arm beneath your heel. Blood smeared across your armour. Laughter. Yours?_

Oh, no. Not that.

_Claws tearing through Ortega's suit, through his flesh. A manic grin beneath the helmet._

Your hands tighten on the bowl of food.

_Your knee impacting Argent's stomach, sending her flying. The sound of her body hitting a car with full force._

You don't feel bad. Take a deep breath.

_Steel's horror, disgust as the building collapses and burns around the two of you. Only the mission is important. Civilians don't matter. Let them die._

You don't feel guilty. Do you?

Should you?

Then why don't you stop?

_Why... do you bother eating? ... Who benefits if you live? _

** _Stop._ **

Shaky hands set your half-eaten breakfast on the boxes serving as a coffee table. You can feel bile rising in the back of your throat. Keep it down.

_You don't deserve to eat. You've done nothing to deserve that._

** _Stop._ **

Press a hand over your mouth, move to your feet. Quickly now.

You practically sprint to the bathroom, hand fumbling on the door handle as you stumble inside, slamming the door behind you.

_When did looking at your own face become so nauseating?_

Your knees hit the ground before you even realise it, white knuckles clinging to the edge of the toilet bowl.

** _Stop._ **

At least you have the sense to tuck your fringe behind your ear before you lean forward. Screw your eyes shut.

Keep it down, don't think about it, you need to keep it down-

Your shoulders tense.

You empty your breakfast into the toilet bowl.

Tears sting the corners of your eyes and you blink them away quickly.

Maybe this will kill you, someday.

_God, wouldn't that be nice._


	2. Keep It Down; Reprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keiron POV  
Keiron's morning routine 2.0. This time it's better.

Getting out of bed is never easy. You stretch slowly, letting out a yawn and shifting in the sheets, cracking an eye open at the sound of movement from across the room. A slight smile tugs at the corner of your lips.

"Up early again?" You mumble softly, propping yourself up on your elbows.

"Escaping while I still can, more like," Chen responds, pulling on a tank top as he glances back at you for a split second. Your hair looks awful, it always does in the morning, but it doesn't stop the fond smile briefly gracing his features.

"Escaping..." you grumble, only to pause as realisation dawns on you, swiftly sitting up. "Wait, Chen," you begin, looking almost distressed before you feel it. Ricardo's arm, wrapping around your waist and pulling you against him.

Chen chuckles quietly in amusement as you squirm, huffing as you attempt to shift in Ricardo's arms to no avail. "Kei..." Ortega mumbles, still clearly half asleep as he presses a gentle kiss against your skin. Your cheeks heat up. "C'mon, it's too early," he mumbles, burying his face into the crook of your neck.

"You can't leave me here like this, Chen," you complain, gently jabbing Ricardo in the stomach with a finger in protest. He merely chuckles, almost cooing at you as he pulls you closer.

"Watch me," and Chen walks out, abandoning you to your imprisonment.

It takes another half an hour to worm your way out of Ricardo's arms, pressing soft kisses to his cheeks and running a hand through his hair before he eventually releases you. You pulled on one of Chen's t-shirts, far too big for you, and shuffled into the kitchen, lured out by the smell of breakfast. You hum softly, rubbing your eyes as you slip into place behind Chen, gently wrapping your arms around his waist and resting your chin on his shoulder.

"Thanks for abandoning me this morning," you grumble, huffing quietly as you half lean against him.

"You managed," he responds, laugh a low rumble as he turns his head towards you slightly. You roll your eyes, pressing a gentle kiss against his jaw.

"Breakfast ready yet?"

"Almost."

You hum softly, fingers tracing slow circles against his hip and he stiffens minutely. The corner of your lip twitches up into a slight smirk. You can't help it. The pink rising on his cheeks is far too entertaining. 

You rock your hips forwards slowly.

Chen almost stutters, a hand swiftly moving to grab at the edge of the counter as he gives you a dirty look, turning slightly in your arms. He can’t hide his blush though. “Basri,” he says, as if he were attempting to scold you.

"What? Still too sore from last night?" You practically purr, voice dropping dangerously low as your fingers tease at the waistband of his pants.

"Can you two keep it down? I'm trying to sleep in here," a more distant voice, from the bedroom. Ricardo. Who still hadn't left the bed.

You roll your eyes, gently pulling away from Chen and giving his butt a gentle pat. Chen grunts quietly, glancing at you over his shoulder. You both know he's smiling, just a little bit.

"I'll go make sure Ricardo gets out of bed," you say decisively.

You don't mind this so much, waking up every morning with the men that you love. Not having any pressing issues to be seen to. It's different, that's for sure, the normalcy of it all still throws you off sometimes.

Maybe you could get used to this, someday.

God, wouldn't that be nice.


	3. Stick To The Script

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: Pining  
Keiron POV  
Change is stressful.  


**10 Years Ago**

You can’t help it. You know you’re screwed. Absolutely fucked. The way Ricardo smiles, laughs, every glance in your direction makes your heart beat a little bit faster. You can feel yourself smile back.

You find yourself gazing at him wistfully more time than you’d care to count.

You aren’t the only one.

You catch Chen looking at him sometimes too. Soft eyes, something that could almost be a smile if you squint at it hard enough. You find yourself hoping you could look at you like that, someday. Like you were important to him, more than just a reluctant ally. 

When Ricardo pulls you close, eyes full of worry, your mask is rolled up and your leg is bleeding. He kisses you. And he kisses well. He starts doing it as regularly as he can, after that, like he’s suddenly aware he could lose you at any moment. When you let him, of course.

Your relationship with Chen becomes a little more strained after that. You’re not sure what you’ve done to draw his suspicion, but he’s watching you like a hawk now. You brush your knuckles against Ricardo’s and you can feel his gaze boring into the back of your skull.

You’re not sure if he’s trying to be subtle and failing, or if he’s doing this on purpose. 

It’s not malicious, necessarily, that’s not the vibe you get from him, but the attention makes you uncomfortable.

One day you press a kiss to Ricardo’s cheek, bidding him farewell for the evening. He smiles, bright, cheeks slightly flushed. You rarely initiate kisses but he’s happy to take whatever he gets. Intending on heading back to your apartment for the evening, you go to leave the HQ.

Of course, fate is never on your side. You run into _ him _ at the front door.

“Sidestep,” Chen says, eyes narrowed.

“Hey, Chen,” You respond, attempting to give him a smile. You wish he’d return it.

“What are you doing here?” Straight to the point, as always.

“I was dropping in to say hi to Ortega,” You shift pulling on a jacket. “I was just leaving,” You add, eyes dancing past him, towards the door.

He hums, face impassive and steps slightly to the side. “Don’t let me keep you, then.”

Ah, the polite way of saying ‘get out’. You clear your throat quietly, tugging at your sleeves and dipping your head into a slight nod. Flash him another small smile as you move past him.

You don’t look back to see if he returns it, but you can feel him watching you as you leave.

You wanted his eyes on you, but not like this.

  


* * *

**Now**

You can’t help it. It’s been years. You’ve changed and so have they. You’ve lost so much and yet you still can’t stop the way your gaze lingers on them.

Ricardo’s smile makes your heart ache.

Chen’s attention still makes you nervous.

You finish your coffee quietly, bumping your knee against Ricardo’s gently. “I’m gonna head home for the day, I think,” You say, moving to your feet. “I’m tired.”

He gives you a sympathetic look, eyes soft and he moves to stand as well. “Okay. Just… take care of yourself, yeah?” Ricardo responds quietly. He leans forward to press a kiss against your cheek. You hum, and no, you’re not blushing.

“I will. Talk to you tomorrow?” Your fingers are threaded with his, just for a moment.

He smiles, bright. Some things don’t change, after all. “Yeah,” He says, clearly pleased to hear you plan on staying in touch rather than disappearing for weeks at a time as you sometimes do.

As per usual, fate is not in your favour.

You almost make it to the entrance of the building before you’re intercepted. Almost.

How many times has this happened, now?

You and Chen pause across from each other. You swear he must be doing this on purpose, always meeting you just before you get to the elevator. He stares you down, but there’s something weird about the way his brows furrow.

“I was just leaving,” You say quietly, words that you both know don’t need to be said, not anymore.

His frown depends, he looks like he’s about to say something. Pauses. “Keiron…” Chen says, stepping closer.

Uh-oh. He’s going off-script.

You hold your ground.

“Yeah?”

He’s not looking at you anymore, and that just won’t do, so you step closer, barely a foot apart now. That makes him pay attention, and he meets your gaze once more. Better.

“Hi,” He says quietly, and suddenly you’re both aware that you’re very close. Extremely close.

“Hey,” You whisper, and you’re not quite sure why you’ve placed your hands against his chest. It just feels… right. This isn’t part of the script. Fingers fisting in the front of his shirt gently, and you step closer. Lips centimetres from his.

He tilts his head slightly. Shifting towards you but not quite enough. He doesn’t know if you’ll do it. He doesn’t think you will. A dare. Bold of him to assume you have any self-restraint.

Another small step forwards and you press your lips to his, relax into his arms. You flatten your palm against his chest and deepen the kiss as he cups your cheek in a hand, as carefully as he can. You close your eyes.

You never thought you’d have to lean down to kiss him. You always figured you would have to pull him down.

…

Hold up. You’ve thought about kissing him before?

…

Hold up. 

You’re kissing him.

Right now.

You inhale sharply, eyes snapping open and you pull away from the kiss. Not part of the script. You release his shirt and he opens his eyes too. He looks confused. Almost worried.

“I was just leaving,” You say, voice edging on panicked. You step away from him and he blinks. He’s stunned enough that you make it past him to the open elevator before he can physically stop you.

“Wait-!” He says, and for a second he sounds almost as scared as you. You have to go. You slam the close door button. His legs move a second too late.

The elevator door shuts, abandoning him where he stands.

And you?

Well, you were just leaving.


	4. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: 'I love you' said too quick, mumbled into your scarf.  
Chen POV

The rain pitter-patters on the umbrella overhead, protecting you from the sudden shower that had decided to hit mere seconds after you had stepped out of the cafe. Keiron had opened his umbrella quickly enough that you weren’t caught in the worst of it. ****

The unfortunate side effect of that was the grin he gave you as he did so, the ‘I told you so’ look that he loved to give you when he was proved right. The weather forecast said it wouldn’t rain. Apparently, the sky favoured Keiron’s opinion more.

You walk, shoulder to shoulder to fit under the umbrella. You can feel him looking at you out of the corner of your eye, but you don’t have time to ask him why he’s staring before he speaks.

“Thank you for lunch. It was nice,” He says softly, bumping his shoulder against yours gently. It’s still strange, walking next to him now. You know he used to be shorter. Maybe it’s the heels he’s wearing, but you’re sure he didn’t use to stand nearly as tall.

“It’s fine. It was… good to spend time with you,” You respond, still not quite sure how to handle anything other than plain contempt and cockiness from him. He hums quietly, glancing down at his feet for a moment.

“Hey, Chen?” A pause, “I love you,” He mumbles, face half-hidden by his scarf. It was almost too quick, as if he wasn’t even sure if he wanted you to hear it or not. You look back at him, almost certain you misheard. He hadn’t dropped the L-word during the first date. Or the second. Or the tenth. You weren’t expecting it now. Keiron doesn’t make eye contact, but his cheeks grow pinker by the second.

“Pardon?” You say and just like that his mood shifts. He elbows you in the side and shoots you a glare. Something more like the Keiron you are familiar with. But he’s still blushing.

“Don’t worry about it,” He grunts, swapping the umbrella to his other hand and almost aggressively taking your hand, threading his fingers with yours. “Shut up.”

Defensive, but you know what him reaching for your hand means by now. He’s always been better with actions than he has been with words. He steps a bit closer, almost pressed into your side, but doesn’t say anything else.

Neither do you, but the gentle squeeze you give his hand in return is the only response he needs.


	5. Familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the prompt: 'I love you' as a whisper in the ear.  
Ortega POV

He’s curled up on the couch when you get home, wrapped in a blanket and watching some rom-com you wouldn’t be able to identify even if you tried. 

It’s weird, actually, how regularly you find him waiting for you inside your apartment recently. Ever since you gave him the key it’s like he lives here on weekdays. You hover in the doorway for a moment, just watching. He lets out a quiet yawn, shifting slightly and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders a little tighter. You let out a small laugh.

Just like that he seems more awake, blinks once, twice, before turning his head towards you, looking like a startled rabbit.

“Asshole, you could have said something when you walked in,” His expression changes to something closer to annoyed, his singular eye almost glowing in the darkness.

“I figured you would’ve heard the door open,” You say, giving him an apologetic smile as you walk over. He grumbles, sitting up only slightly and pulling an arm free from the blankets to rest it on the back of the couch.

Keiron leans up towards you and you press a chaste kiss to his lips. Plonk yourself down on the couch next to him without asking if you can join. He shifts only slightly when you rest your head on his shoulder.

He does squirm a little when you press a kiss to his jaw, however. Muffles a giggle when you kiss at his neck. “Stop…” He mumbles, but the corner of his lips quirk up ever so slightly. “Ricardo…”

You hum, lips brushing his cheek gently and he sighs. “Mmm, I love you…” You say, softly, peppering kisses against his skin. That’s what does it, a hand on your face, pushing you away from him as he scowls. A gentle shove and you’re laughing softly in amusement.

“Fucking hell, stop being gross,” He grunts, wrinkling his nose and turning his attention back to the TV. He’s blushing. You count that as a win.


End file.
